M2
Medicare levy surcharge
This question is compulsory.
Depending on your income for Medicare levy surcharge
(MLS) purposes, the MLS rate is 1%, 1.25% or 1.5% of:
n your taxable income
n your total reportable fringe benefits, and
n any amount on which family trust distribution tax has
been paid.
You may have to pay the MLS if you or your dependants
(including your spouse, even if they had their own income)
did not have an appropriate level of private patient hospital
cover for the whole of 2012–13 and your income for
MLS purposes was above a certain amount.
Your health insurer must give you a statement showing
the number of days that you and all your dependants
had appropriate cover in 2012–13. If you do not have this
statement, or are not sure if you had an appropriate level
of private patient hospital cover, contact your health insurer.
Dependants
For this question, your dependants (regardless of their
income) are your:
nspouse, even if they worked during 2012–13 or had
their own income
n children under 21 years old
nchildren 21 to 24 years old who are full-time students.
Your dependants must have been Australian residents for
tax purposes in 2012–13 and you must have contributed
to their maintenance. For the meaning of maintaining a
dependant and Australian resident for tax purposes, see
Definitions on pages 71 and 73.
Did you and all your dependants
have an ‘appropriate level of private
patient hospital cover’ for the whole
of 2012–13?
Yes Print X in the Yes box at E item M2. You have
finished this question.
Make sure you complete Private health
insurance policy details.
No
52
Print X in the No box at E. Read on.
INDIVIDUAL TAX RETURN INSTRUCTIONS 2013
Answering this question
Medicare levy surcharge exemptions
You are exempt from MLS for the whole of 2012–13 if you
fit into one of the following categories which depend on
your circumstances and your income for MLS purposes.
To work out your income for MLS purposes
use worksheet 1 on page 54, or you can go to
ato.gov.au/instructions2013 and use the Income
for (Medicare levy) surcharge purposes calculator.
Table 1
Exemption categories
You and all your dependants were in a Medicare
levy exemption category for the whole of 2012–13
(see question M1).
You were single for the whole of 2012–13, and:
n for the whole of 2012–13 you did not have a
dependent child, and
n your income for MLS purposes was $84,000 or less.
You were single for the whole of 2012–13, and:
n you had a dependent child for all of 2012–13, and
n your income for MLS purposes was $168,000 or less
(plus $1,500 for each dependent child after the first).
You were single for part of 2012–13, and:
n for the whole of 2012–13 you did not have a
dependent child
n your spouse did not die during the year, and
n your income for MLS purposes was $84,000 or less.
You had a spouse (with or without dependent children)
for the whole of 2012–13, and your combined income
for MLS purposes was:
n $168,000 or less (plus $1,500 for each dependent
child after the first), or
n greater than $168,000 (plus $1,500 for each
dependent child after the first) but your own income
for MLS purposes was $20,542 or less.
If you had a spouse on 1 July 2012, your spouse died
during 2012–13 and you did not have another spouse
before the end of the year, assume that you had
a spouse for the whole of 2012–13 when you work out
your MLS income.
M2 Medicare levy surcharge
You must go to ato.gov.au/instructions2013 and
read question M2 if you did not fit into any of the
categories in table 1 on page 52 and:
n you were single for part of the year
n you were widowed during the year
n you became or ceased to be a sole parent
n you or any of your dependants were covered
for only part of the year, or
n you are an overseas visitor with health cover.
at A item M2 the number of days for which you
3 Write
do not have to pay MLS.
If you do not have to pay MLS for any days during the
period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013, write 365 at A
item M2.
Completing your tax return
If you have to pay MLS for:
n the whole period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013,
write 0 at A item M2
n part of the period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013,
write the number of days for which you do not
have to pay MLS at A item M2.
1
Write the number of dependent children you had
during 2012–13 at D item M2.
If you had private patient hospital cover for any part of
the year, you must complete Private health insurance
policy details on pages 47–8 and then read on.
If you and all your dependants had an appropriate
level of private patient hospital cover for the whole
of 2012–13, print X in the Yes box at E item M2.
You have now finished this question.
If you or any of your dependants did not have private
patient hospital cover or only had cover for part of the
year, print X in the No box at the right of E item M2.
Go to step 2.
category (see table 1
2 Ifonyoupagewere52)inforantheexemption
whole of 2012–13, print X in the
Yes box to the left of ‘You do not have to pay the
surcharge’ and write 365 at A item M2. You have now
finished this question. Go to A1.
Make sure you complete:
n Income tests on page 8 of your tax return, and
n Spouse details if you had a spouse during the year,
on pages 8–9 of your tax return.
Working out income for MLS purposes
Complete worksheet 1 on page 54 to work out your
income and your spouse’s income (if you had one
during the year) for MLS purposes. You can also go to
ato.gov.au/instructions2013 and use the Income for
(Medicare levy) surcharge purposes calculator.
If you or your spouse received exempt foreign employment
income, add it to taxable income at (a).
If you were not in an exemption category, print X in
the No box to the left of ‘You may have to pay the
surcharge’ and read on.
INDIVIDUAL TAX RETURN INSTRUCTIONS 2013
53
M2 Medicare levy surcharge
Worksheet 1
You
Taxable income (from TAXABLE INCOME OR LOSS)
Total reportable fringe benefits amount (from W item IT1)
Amount on which family trust distribution tax has been paid
(from X item A4 supplementary section)
Net financial investment loss (from X item IT5)
Net rental property loss (from Y item IT6)
Reportable employer superannuation contributions (from T item IT2)
Deductible personal superannuation contributions
(from H item D12 supplementary section )
Spouse
$
(a)
$
(a)
$
(b)
$
(b)
$
(c)
$
(c)
$
(d)
$
(d)
$
(e)
$
(e)
$
(f)
$
(f)
$
(g)
$
(g)
$
(h)
Your spouse’s share of the net income of a trust on which the trustee must
pay tax and which has not been included at (a) (from T Spouse details)
Add the amounts from (a) to (h) in each column.
If you or your spouse were 55 to 59 years old, write here the taxed element
amount of superannuation lump sums (other than a death benefit) received
during 2012–13 that do not exceed your or your spouse’s low rate cap.
To work out the taxed element, you must go to ato.gov.au/instructions2013
and read question M2.
Take (k) away from (j). This is each individual’s income for MLS purposes.
$
(j)
$
(j)
$
(k)
$
(k)
$
(l)
$
(l)
$
(n)
Add the amount from (l) in your column to the amount from (l) in your spouse’s
column.
Your income for MLS purposes when you are single is the amount at (l) in your column.
Your combined income for MLS purposes is the amount at (n).
If your spouse received a lump sum payment in arrears
which is either foreign income (shown at item 20) or
other income (shown at item 24), you must complete
a schedule of additional information. You must go to
ato.gov.au/instructions2013 and read question M2
to find out how to complete the schedule.
54
INDIVIDUAL TAX RETURN INSTRUCTIONS 2013